Image Set: “Ski Tour to the Wildhorn”.
Image Set: “Ski Tour to the Wildhorn”.
I thought I'd mix it up a bit this week and show you around our local mountains in Winter, while on ski tour (which was yesterday, actually).
We have had some less than ideal conditions of late here in the Swiss Alps.
For winter, that is.
If you were looking for warmer spring weather, here has been the place to be the last two weeks.
For the ski resorts this is obviously not ideal.
It’s a struggle with the lack of snow (below 1500m above sea level).
But if you enjoy heading into the mountains under your own power, there is plenty of skiing to be had.
The high mountains, to be precise.
What am I talking about?
Ski touring, of course.
What is it?
Quite simply, it’s the most awesome thing you can do in the whole wide world.
In winter.
In summer we can talk about bike packing / touring, but it’s not summer.
Ski touring is when you attach thin strips of “skin” (carpet like material) to the bottom of specialised ski’s, which allows it to grip onto snow.
You then walk (hike) up onto a mountain in the back country, after which you remove the “skins”, and ski down.
In a nutshell.
I can do a separate post, actually a whole series of posts, on what ski touring is.
What I want to share with you in this week’s post / newsletter, though, is the image set from our ski tour yesterday to the Wildhorn, which is part of the mountain range at the end of our valley here in the upper Simmental in Switzerland.
What is the Wildhorn?
Glad you asked.
It is one of the highest summits in the Bernese Alps, at 3 248m above sea level, and forms a large glaciated massif that is the border between the cantons of Bern and Valais.
We started our tour predawn at the Iffigenalp, roughly 1600m above sea level.
This is a tour many people attempt in two days, staying over in the Wildhorn mountain hut before the summit attempt.
Which of course meant we had some ground to cover as we were doing it in one day.
With two glaciers to cross.
As well as one of the highlights from this particular tour, crossing the frozen Iffigsee (see opening image).
Being higher up in elevation, the colder temperatures would normally mean the snow stays good here for longer. But as we progressed, it was clear that the abnormally warm weather reached even the higher altitudes.
This meant harder than usual snow due to the melt freeze cycle (not often present at these higher altitudes this time of year).
And further compacted by strong winds that often prevail at these increased hights.
One thing that becomes quite clear as you get higher into the alpine region, is the scale of the mountains.
And how small you are within them.
The walk - or “skin” as it is referred to in ski touring - up to the Wildhorn is not super technical (depending on conditions).
It’s just long.
We had some challenging traverses to deal with due to the icy conditions in the early morning, though.
But that’s what makes it so much fun to move through mountains and relying on yourself and your accumulated back country knoweldge to survive.
As we approached our goal for the day, our collective morale improved even more and we put our heads down to reach the summit.
Tradition (if conditions allow) at the summit is to enjoy the views, eat some snacks, take some sun, and then start the ski down.
Which we did.
And of course discussed the panoramic views of the region’s mountain peaks all the way to Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France.
Then it was time for the (or one of the) biggest reason for skinning up in the first place, which is the ski down.
When skiing down it is important to stay relatively close as a group, and check in with one another every now and then.
Other than that it’s just about having fun and enjoying the day’s reward for all our hard work (a massive over simplification, of course, but it’ll do for this post!).
It’s easy to think going on a ski tour is just about hiking up and skiing perfect snow on the way down.
Far from it.
It’s about so much more.
There’s the hiking and skiing, of course (the snow is more often than not not perfect).
But there’s also the privelage of being in this amazing terrain, the decision making to stay safe (avalanches, crevasses), the views, the experiences and impressions on your soul.
But above all (when you don’t go alone like I often do) the camaraderie and making of new friends.
That’s it for this week, hope you enjoyed a little insight into ski touring around my local mountains.
Do you have any interesting ski touring stories or thoughts to share?
Simply hit reply and let me know / comment below.
Have a great week!
PS - earlier this week I published my second ever podcast episode (in case you missed it), here.
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Until next time ✌🏽.
Cornelius
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Your writing style is truly your own. Like an artist having a certain style and one can recognize from a mile away. I love it. This was such a great adventure brilliantly captured in words and images.
Your tour amazing as your pics...wow!